What Do Kanye West’s Rants Reveal About His Mental State?

Kanye West has been making news with his European Tirade Tour where he empties his thoughts onstage and unburdens himself of his opinions on life, art, and the perils of being a genius. But for the most part, he simply rages against the machine.

The rants are given prominent placement in West’s sets. He yells, screams and weaves rhymes into his conversation to make his points. In February, he hit London and Paris and he blasted the Academy for not giving him what he deemed his fair share of GRAMMY awards. He pointed to race as the issue.

“I love white people, but I actually never won a GRAMMY against a white person,” he said. He was determined not to let the injustice get “swept under the rug.”

While fans at Kanye West’s shows seemed to respond favorably to his pronouncements, the wild actions raised concerns in others–including those in the mental health field–who have questions about the rapper’s mental wellbeing.

“He’s a rapper and outspoken and giving some kind of emotional rant,” said Dr. John Sharp, author of The Emotional Calendar: Understanding Seasonal Influences and Milestones to become Happier, More Fulfilled and in Control of Your Life. “It could be a reaction against money against corruption.”

“He could be putting his feelings out there as if they are alive in someone else and not him,” Dr. Sharp explained to Radio.com. “There is something called projective identification. It’s when you are railing against something that you perfer to rail against rather than relate to. If you are angry you might see an angry guy and say that guy is really angry.”